Delhi: Out on bail, ‘godman’ held in fake job racket

The racket was busted in a joint operation by the Crime Branch and the southeast district police. Bhimanand was arrested on Sunday from East of Kailash, and he also gave up the location of his associate, Kankana Deb, who was arrested from Mahavir Enclave. The others are on the run.

Ichadhari Sant Bhimanand, a self-styled godman arrested for his involvement in a high-profile sex racket and released on bail, has been arrested yet again — this time over a fake job racket.

Police said Bhimanand’s funds had dried up fighting a court case, after he was charged under the MCOCA. Eventually, with the help of five associates, he concocted an elaborate fake job racket to earn money.

The racket was busted in a joint operation by the Crime Branch and the southeast district police. Bhimanand was arrested on Sunday from East of Kailash, and he also gave up the location of his associate, Kankana Deb, who was arrested from Mahavir Enclave. The others are on the run.
According to police, the accused had duped a marketing graduate working at an MNC to the tune of Rs 30 lakh on the pretext of offering her a job with the IRCTC. The woman alleged, “I used to earn Rs 60,000 a month. Deb, the racket’s kingpin, promised me a job as an assistant manager in IRCTC, in August last year.” Police said the woman was asked to pay Rs 12 lakh as security deposit, which the accused claimed would be refunded within six moths of joining.

Police said Deb then set up a meeting, where the woman submitted some documents and paid Rs 1 lakh in two installments. Police said the woman soon grew suspicious of the accused. When she inquired about her job, they threatened her with termination, she alleged. In March this year, she got her appointment letter. “The woman was also lured into paying Rs 8 lakh more. The accused had also promised to get her brother enrolled in Krishi Bhavan while her cousin and an acquaintance of her father were promised jobs as food inspectors,” an officer said.

When the woman did not get the job, she confronted the accused in June and they admitted to duping her. They promised to refund the money and gave her cheques which bounced. “They threatened me by claiming that they knew top government officials and gangsters,” she claimed.